


Worth It

by mucha



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Eventual Smut, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sex Work, fluff and (probably) angst, sugar daddy shownu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-14 13:39:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11209200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mucha/pseuds/mucha
Summary: “Sorry, I had to stay longer at work. Ugh, my back is killing me. I need a massage, at least twenty days off--”“A different job.”“A hot bath--”“What you need,” Kihyun cuts him off, pointing his fork at Minhyuk’s face. “Is a sugar daddy.”Minhyuk chokes on his croissant.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this is my first time writing for this fandom so please don't murder me. If you feel like murdering someone - [roachprince](http://archiveofourown.org/users/roachprince) dragged me into monsta x hell, so everything is, as always, his fault.  
> Unbeta'd, so I apologize for any mistakes!

“You're late.”

Kihyun doesn't look angry. He's sitting in the armchair, his legs crossed and a plate with eggs, two croissants and some pancakes placed in front of him on the table. The steam is still raising and swirling around the cup of coffee, which means that he wasn't waiting too long. That, and the fact that he didn't glare daggers at Minhyuk when the latter sprinted into the cafe, his hair messed up by the wind and his coat open, was a great hint that Minhyuk was in the clear.

“And _you_ love me very much,” Minhyuk says, grabbing a croissant off Kihyun’s plate and biting right into it. Kihyun doesn't even flinch, way too used to his friend’s laid back approach to helping himself to other people's food.

“You sure?” Kihyun quirks his eyebrows, stabbing the eggs with his fork, probably in case Minhyuk decides to claim their ownership too. “I don't recall ever saying that.”

“Oh, you definitely did,” Minhyuk announces, flopping down onto the opposite armchair with a heavy sigh. “You were drunk, but it still counts.”

For a while he simply watches his friend eat, trying to find a position that would take some pressure off his aching spine.

“Sorry, I had to stay longer at work. Ugh, my back is killing me. I need a massage, at least twenty days off--”

“A different job.”

“A hot bath--”

“What you need,” Kihyun cuts him off, pointing his fork at Minhyuk’s face. “Is a sugar daddy.”

Minhyuk chokes on his croissant.

“What?” he blurts out after swallowing the bite. “How exactly did you arrive to that conclusion?”

Kihyun just shrugs, completely unfazed, digging into his eggs.

“It makes sense. You'd earn money and get laid, it's like killing two birds with one stone.”

“Wh-- man, getting laid isn't necessarily a plus here.”

“I don't know, dude, you look like you could use some first class, grade _a_ dicki--”

“Shut your mouth,” Minhyuk hisses, looking around to see if there weren’t any kids listening in to their conversation.

“I’m just telling it how it is.”

Kihyun goes back to his breakfast, leaving Minhyuk to stare at him, the cogs in his brain turning. His friend’s suggestion should make him outraged, but he's used to Kihyun's ideas, and out of all of them, this one slightly more sane than what he usually comes up with.

Minhyuk isn't a prude, he doesn't equate sex with love, not anymore. He's had his share of casual flings and one night stands, so maybe getting paid for it… no, that would be… what exactly? Wrong?

He drums his fingers on the table, chewing on his bottom lip. What's stopping him? Why shouldn’t he give it a shot? It's not like he has anything to lose here.

“If I was to try it…” he starts slowly, ignoring Kihyun’s smirk. “How exactly does that work? Like, where do you find a…” he lowers his voice. “A sugar daddy?”

“Online?” Kihyun suggests, taking a sip of his coffee. “That should work, I think, I read about that somewhere.”

“An interesting choice of reading material.”

“Shut up,” Kihyun mumbles and Minhyuk grins at him before going back to the matter on hand.

“What if I'm, like, not good enough?” he asks. “ What if he’s into some really weird stuff?”

Kihyun frowns, looking Minhyuk up and down, and when he finishes his inspection, he breaks into a grin.

“Well then you're shit out of luck. Only Hyungwon is pretty enough to be able to pull off just lying there and looking cute. You, my friend, have to work for it.”

Minhyuk groans, leaning forward and banging his forehead against the table. Kihyun kicks his shin and Minhyuk straightens up, propping his head with his hands.

“Anyway,” Kihyun continues, ignoring Minhyuk’s whines. “maybe you won't have to get anywhere near his dick, people have a lot of different kinks, one guy wrote to me on Twitter, asking if I would be willing to send him photos of my feet for money.”

“What, seriously?” the curiosity takes over and Minhyuk leans forward, almost slipping off his chair. “Did you do it?”

“Who do you think I am?” Kihyun scoffs. He leans back, crossing his legs and grins smugly. “Of course I did, two hundred fifty thousand won is a good price for one photo, right?”

“Oh my God, Kihyun.”

Kihyung raises his eyebrows, sending Minhyuk a pointed look.

“What, like _you_ couldn't use some extra money.”

And yeah, that's fair. After all he was just asking how to find a sugar daddy, so this was a very pot and kettle type of situation. Still, Minhyuk hasn’t decided anything yet, this is all hypothetical.

“What if he turns out to be some old disgusting creep who wants to murder me and make a throw rug out of my skin?”

“Well, then don't get one like that,” Kihyun says simply, as if he was talking about getting a new pair of jeans. “Do your research, don't meet up with the first one to hit you up. You know, just like with dating.”

Minhyuk scoffs. Yeah, that sounds easy. It would probably help if he had any proper experiences with dating, but to be perfectly honest, he had never had a lot of luck in that department.

He spends the rest of the day hanging out with Kihyun, allowing him to drag them both to a bookstore where he forgets all about the previous conversation, walking between the shelves and picking up books based solely on the colors of their covers. It's one of the things he and Kihyun have in common. They both can spend hours in bookstores and libraries, even if their wallets are empty and their piles of books to read are taller than they are themselves. There's just something about the silence and the smell of paper that makes every worry shrink, at least for a little while. _Nothing bad can ever happen in a bookstore_ , Kihyun had once said, and Minhyuk trusts him on that.

They part their ways after a few hours and it's only when he's already in his apartment when Minhyuk starts thinking about Kihyun’s idea again. He eyes his laptop, trying to convince himself that there's no harm in taking a look. It's not like he has any other plans, anyway.

He pours himself a glass of wine and pulls his laptop into his lap. According to the label, the wine should be citrusy, but Minhyuk can't really taste it. The sourness is burning his throat, but he doesn't want to leave his glass full; he's going to need all the courage he can get, even in liquid form.

He takes a deep breath, his fingers skating over his keyboard. This is fine, he's not doing anything wrong, he's not hurting anyone. It's something that people do, right? Right. He tries to shut down the tiny voice in his head that's telling him _people do heroin too_ and opens one of the websites, clicking on the register button. He starts creating his profile, trying to come across as someone interesting and laid back, but he doesn't even get to upload any photos before his inbox fills with messages. They're not just any messages, each of them has a photo of someone's junk attached to it and they all read like the guys sending them ran them through google translate at least ten times. The general idea is very simple to understand, though, and Minhyuk slumps a little in his spot, wondering what the hell was he thinking.

He's not entirely disappointed, he didn't expect Prince Charming to pop up on a website like this, but this is a lot even for him.

He's just about to close the page when he notices a new message - this one catches his eye because it's not titled _suck my cock, baby_ nor any variation of the offer, it's simply titled _hello_. His eyebrows shoot up when he starts reading it; not a single word about dicks and blowjobs. Now that’s new. Instead, the message is kept short but polite, with proper punctuation.  

Minhyuk’s curiosity grows stronger as he clicks on the profile of the sender. No photos whatsoever, but the mysterious guy went through the trouble of filling out the questionnaire, and soon Minhyuk learns that he’s looking for someone discrete and interesting, preferably his own age (and here's where the mysterious guy scores another point; he's not some old creep looking for a young piece of ass) and willing to travel out of the country once in a while. After both parties gain some trust towards each other, of course. Check, check and double check.

Minhyuk goes back to the message and reads through it again.

 

_Hello,_

_I know you probably already got tens of messages, but I hope you won't mind another one. My name is Hyunwoo and I’d like to meet you._

_Wow, that sounds really weird, doesn't it?_

_It's difficult to write about this and not come across a creep, I suppose, but I promise I’m simply looking for someone to talk, meet, spend some time with. I’m sorry, I’m really bad at this writing stuff. If you’re interested feel free to message me anytime and if you’re not - no hard feelings, I hope you have luck with whatever it is you’re looking for here._

_Sincerely,_

_Hyunwoo_

 

It’s cute. It’s simply cute, Minhyuk can’t deny it. This Hyunwoo dude seems like a sweet, slightly nervous guy and if this wasn’t a website for people looking for sugar daddies and babies, Minhyuk would be enchanted. Still, he can’t help but smile at the adorable awkwardness and to be honest, he definitely prefers it over the dick pics he received earlier. 

His mind is already made up as he clicks on the reply button. His message is short and filled with emoticons, but Hyunwoo answers it in less than five minutes, and before Minhyuk knows it, he agrees to meet him the next day.

The bistro Hyunwoo chooses for their _date_ isn't too fancy, but it's definitely not a hole in the wall type of place. It's just a block away from the part of city where all the white collar workers and CEOs have their offices, which probably means Hyunwoo is going to spend his lunch break with him. That's fine, having limited time is going to actually work in Minhyuk’s favor. Probably. Hopefully.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he whispers to himself after he sends a quick _see you tomorrow_ and shuts his laptop off, placing it on the coffee table.

He’s already in his bed when he decides to check his messages one last time, just in case. Sure enough, a text from Hyunwoo is waiting for him in his inbox.

_Can't wait :) xxx_

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing he notices when he wakes up is that his stomach hurts.

It always happens when he's nervous and even though he can pretend like he's fine, his body betrays him. He _is_ nervous. He shouldn’t be, not really. After all, it's a public place and he can always just say no, but it doesn't change the fact that the knot in his stomach gets tighter with every passing minute.

After taking a shower and brushing his teeth he puts on some fresh clothes and stands in front of the bathroom mirror. He runs his fingers through his hair and then tugs on the collar of his shirt, scowling at his reflection. He should have asked Hyungwon for some clothes to borrow, but he dreaded having to tell him what exactly he needed them for. _Hey, do you have anything that a potential sugar daddy might like_?

Minhyuk sighs heavily, rubbing his temples. Yeah, this is so not going to end well. It's too late to back out now, so he grabs his wallet and keys and walks out of his apartment.

The weather is beautiful, warm and sunny, and his mood stays in tune with it until he steps into the bistro. It's spacious and modernly decorated, all glass, metal and sharp edges. He sits down at one of the empty tables, close enough to see the entrance, but far away from other customers.

Now all that’s left is waiting.

He can sense the looks the staff is sending him; a prickling feeling on the back of his neck, and he silently curses his habit of getting twenty minutes early to every meeting.

He tries to keep himself from fiddling with his sleeves, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. It feels like he's about to take an important exam and failing it would mean… well, something bad. It's ridiculous, it really is, and Minhyuk has half a mind to just get up and walk out, when--

“Minhyuk?”

Minhyuk looks up and his mouth immediately goes dry.

_Holy mother of God._

The man standing in front of him is, simply put, _stunning_.

He's tall, handsome, with broad shoulders and a neat haircut. Even hidden by the suit (that definitely had to cost more than Minhyuk’s life insurance), his arms look like he could bench press Minhyuk and his entire family without breaking a sweat.

He looks around, expecting some other Hyungwon-level-looking Minhyuk to pop up, because there is no way in hell that _this_ guy is actually looking for him.

“Oh, I'm sorry--” the guy takes a step back, but Minhyuk finally snaps out of his trance and shakes his head.

“No, I'm… him. Minhyuk.” he adds, pointing to himself. “That's me.”

It's easy to see that, judging by the slightly confused and unsure look in the guy's eyes, he didn't exactly come across as very persuasive.

“You're Hyunwoo, right?” Minhyuk asks, and the guy visibly relaxes.

“Yeah, I'm sorry, I thought I got the wrong person.”

“What, am I that good looking?” Minhyuk asks with a wink. _Oh good, his charm is back_.

“Yes, I-I mean no, I mean--”

“Hey, I was just joking, calm down,” Minhyuk cuts off the panicked word vomit. Hyunwoo nods, clearly relieved, and sits down in the chair on the other side of the table.

He doesn't look intimidating. Sure, he looks as if he could tear Minhyuk apart with his bare hands, but Minhyuk has a feeling he might have to ask for it at least three times. Plus there's something in his eyes, something soft, that makes Minhyuk trust him. An aura of gentleness that calms him down, to his own surprise.

Hyunwoo seems to get himself together too and he straightens up, fixing his cufflinks.

“Would you like anything to eat? A drink?” he asks, making eye contact with one of the waiters and raising his fingers.

“Um, water is fine, thanks,” Minhyuk mutters, much to Hyunwoo’s amusement.

“That's an unusual choice,” he says and then turns his attention to the waiter, ordering a glass of water for Minhyuk and an espresso for himself.

The waiter disappears with a short bow, and Hyunwoo turns around to Minhyuk again.

“Would you mind showing me your phone?”

Minhyuk blinks a few times and slowly reaches into his pocket.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” he says, passing the phone to Hyunwoo, who presses the home button, glancing at the screen, and then looks up at Minhyuk with a grin.

“BTS, huh?”

“They're my favorite group.”

“I like them too.” Hyunwoo slides the phone back to Minhyuk. “Thank you, I had to make sure you're not recording us.”

_What the fuck_.

Minhyuk tries to keep his face straight, making a mental note to do some research back at home, but Hyunwoo must notice his confusion, because he says:

“Yeah, I know, it’s just… I work for a big company and I have to be careful, you know?”

“Is this why you’re… you know, looking for _someone_?”

A shadow passes through Hyunwoo’s features. It appears only for a fraction of a second, but Minhyuk still notices it. He doesn't say anything, because Hyunwoo catches his gaze and shifts in his chair, clearing his throat.

“Part of it. I don’t really have time to date, so it’s kinda easier that way.”

Minhyk nods, his fingers tapping against the table. The atmosphere is strange, suffocating him. So far Hyunwoo didn't turn into a murderer, which is good, and he seems like a nice guy, but it's still awkward.

“Makes sense.”

“What about you? What are you looking for?”

“I'm, uh… I’m not sure? I don't really know how to do this thing,” Minhyuk confesses. “You're the first… _you know_ … that I met with.”

“Really?” Hyunwoo asks, something sounding like pleasant surprise audible in his voice. “Why did you choose me?”

“Well.” Minhyuk shrugs. “You didn't send me a dick pic, that's a start.”

“Really, it's that easy to win you over?”

Minhyuk snaps up his head, ready to get offended, but the smile tugging on the corners of Hyunwoo’s lips makes it crystal clear that he's just kidding. And okay. This is something he can deal with. Banter is something Minhyuk excels at, thanks to spending so many years with his friends.

“Not even close,” he says with a smirk. “I still haven't decided if you're worth my time.”

“Oh?” Hyunwoo raises his eyebrows, grinning at him. “Well, is there any way I could help you make up your mind?”

Their conversation is interrupted by the waiter, who places the glass of water and the espresso in front of them and then disappears again. Hyunwoo takes a sip of his coffee and sighs happily.

“You could start with telling me something about yourself,” Minhyuk says, trailing his finger over the edge of his glass. “ _A big company_ is very nice and impressive, but I'd like to know more about you.”

“I'm twenty five, I don't have a lot of free time but when I do I spend it in the gym or playing sports, I have a dog--”

“Really?” Minhyuk immediately perks up. “What breed?”

Hyunwoo blinks at him a few times and shrugs.

“She doesn't exactly… I found her outside my house and I just couldn't leave her like that.”

Minhyuk knows that at this point his fate is sealed. He listens to Hyunwoo talk about his dog, his posture and expressions becoming more animated and relaxed at the same time. It makes Minhyuk almost feel like they're friends, like they actually know each other.

“Okay,” he says finally, when Hyunwoo runs out of anecdotes about his dog and subtly glances at his watch. Minhyuk realizes Hyunwoo’s lunch break must be already over, but he's too polite to say anything about that, bless his heart. There's just one thing he needs to know first. “There's no subtle way to ask this, so I'm going to be blunt. What about sex?”

Hyunwoo scratches the back of his neck. To Minhyuk's surprise he looks truly embarrassed, his cheeks pink and his eyes fixed on the table.

“It's not-- I mean, it's not the most important thing for me, honestly. I want us to have fun together and I'm not going to pressure you into anything, if one day you decide that you want to try me, I mean it,” he corrects himself quickly. “I'm not going to be opposed, of course, but, uh… it's up to you.”

Minhyuk leans back, watching him carefully. Hyunwoo’s words are very… reasonable, even _nice_ in some way, but it's difficult to believe in them.

“I want to take care of you, and in return I just want your company, that's all,” Hyunwoo finishes softly and looks up at Minhyuk. There's something in his eyes, something that makes him look scared, and Minhyuk finds himself smiling.

“Okay,” he says, his voice strong and confident. “Alright, I'm in. Let's try this.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Hyunwoo smiles at him, a little dazed.

“We didn't even talk about money.”

“Let's just say I trust you with that,” Minhyuk says, gesturing around them. “Call me after work so we can set up a longer meeting?”

Now Hyunwoo’s smile is positively blinding. He jumps to his feet, rearranging his jacket, and reaches to Minhyuk as if he wanted to hug him. He stops himself and shakes his hand instead, his skin soft and warm.

“Sure. I have to go now, but if you feel like getting something to eat, just put it on my tab.”

He waves at Minhyuk and leans over to their waiter, whispering something to him before walking out of the bistro. Minhyuk follows him with his eyes and when Hyunwoo disappears behind the corner, he leans back, running his fingers through his hair.

What the fuck has he gotten himself into.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta'd <3

“Well, that’s just rude.”

Minhyuk rolls his eyes and silently counts to five before glancing over the easel in front of him.

Hyungwon is scowling at him, his lips pursed in an unhappy pout, and Minhyuk wonders what exactly made him tell his friend about his last idea just before asking him to pose.

He ducks down behind the easel, but before he even has a chance to touch the canvas, Hyungwon speaks up again:

“No, seriously, I’m offended! How could you not tell me you were meeting with a sugar daddy? That's like friendship violation number one.”

Minhyuk sighs, putting down his brush. To be perfectly honest, he didn't tell anyone because he still wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. Everything happened so quickly, from his decision to answer Hyunwoo’s message to meeting him, that he didn't start _really_ thinking about it until the next few days. At first he liked the idea of getting extra money and Hyunwoo was nice and cute enough to make him forget what it was that he got himself into, but after having some time to think it through, Minhyuk started having doubts. He wasn't worried about his friends’ reactions, he knew them well enough to be calm about it, but what if someone else finds out that he has a sugar daddy and decides to make his life a living hell? What if his boss, his coworkers hear about him? His professors? Some part of him wants to share those doubts with Hyungwon and the rest of his friends, but maybe he should wait. After all, nothing really happened yet, he just met Hyunwoo for five minutes. Maybe he will call everything off after spending more time with Minhyuk and all that worrying will be for nothing.

“Would you stop moving?” he mumbles and adds quietly when Hyungwon gets back into the position Minhyuk was trying to paint (the key word being _trying_ ): “It was kind of a spur of a moment type of thing.”

He hears Hyungwon’s snort and decides to ignore it. He barely manages to put more paint on his brush when Hyungwon announces:

“Okay, fine, I'll forgive you if you tell me everything about him. And I do mean everything.” he leans over conspiratorially, curling his hands around his mouth, and whisper-shouts: “I'm talking about his dick, if that wasn't clear.”

Minhyuk groans loudly, putting his brush down. There's no way he's ever going to finish this goddamn painting, why did he even think asking Hyungwon for help was a good idea? To his friend's defense, Hyungwon was a professional model known for his great attitude at the photoshoots and events, so he probably had to blow off steam somewhere.

“What is with you and dicks?” Minhyuk asks, stepping away from the easel to glare at his friend.

Hyungwon shrugs.

“They're fun.”

Minhyuk groans again and Hyungwon, noticing that their little session is clearly over, puts down his hands and jumps off the podium that Minhyuk had asked him to get onto an hour ago, when he still had hopes of getting any work done.

“Well, in any case, I know absolutely nothing about his dick,” he announces, walking over to the sink to clean his brushes. “I do know that his name is Hyunwoo, he's twenty five and he works for some big company--

“Wait, wait, wait, hang on,” Hyungwon cuts him off, raising his palm. “Son Hyunwoo? The heir to one of the biggest companies in the country?”

He starts typing something on his phone and then shoves it into Minhyuk’s face. There's a photo of Hyunwoo on the screen. He's standing amongst a group of older, very serious looking men and he stands out so much with his pretty face and broad shoulders that Minhyuk almost giggles.

“Yeah, that's him.”

Hyungwon whistles, putting his phone back into his pocket. He's looking at Minhyuk with a strange mixture of amazement and pride.

“Okay, listen,” he says, taking a deep breath. “you just won a golden ticket to this whole sugar baby show, my friend. That guy is rich, and I mean _rich_. So how’s your arrangement going to work?”

Minhyuk isn't exactly sure what to make of this. If Hyungwon knows Hyunwoo then he should probably research him too, but there was something about it that felt wrong. It was difficult for him to explain, but he wanted to give Hyunwoo a chance to present himself in a way that he wanted or needed. Reading up about him felt like cheating and even though Minhyuk’s curiosity was off the charts he decided to stop himself from googling him. He wanted to discover him for himself, and maybe it was silly, maybe naive, but he didn’t care. He knew that Hyunwoo wasn’t dangerous ( _hopefully_ ) and that was enough for now. Plus, he had Hyungwon, who would be ready to raise hell if anything bad ever happened to him, and that thought kept him from going into a freak out mode.

“Well, he said that he just wants to spend time with me? Like, the exact words were _take care of me_ and that I didn't even need to sleep with him if I didn't want to. At least that's what he told me, he might change his mind, I suppose.”

Hyungwon frowns at him, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Huh, that's weird. Maybe he's like Christian Gray?” he asks, his eyes suddenly going comically wide. “He's going to make you sign a completely bullshit contract and obviously he's gonna disregard it later and end up turning into a total creep. Don't sign anything, I'm serious. Ow, I’m just protecting you, asshole!” he yelps when Minhyuk swats at his arm.

Minhyuk rolls his eyes, cleaning up his palettes. Hyungwon watches him, leaning back against the podium and humming something under his breath. Finally, when he gets bored of just standing there, he asks:

“So when are you meeting him?”

“Tonight, actually,” Minhyuk says, carefully keeping his eyes trained on the palettes when he hears Hyungwon take a breath, undoubtedly to curse him out for not saying that earlier. “He's taking me to dinner at Le Bernardin? I think that's how you pronounce it, it's French and--”

“Okay, okay,” Hyungwon stops his rambling and scans him, head to toe, with a long sigh. “Just please, please, for the love of God, tell me you're not going to wear _this_.”

 

* * *

 

 

The restaurant is _fancy_.

There's no other way to describe it. It's surrounded by a beautiful, neatly kept garden, and the building is covered with vines, tiny lights hidden tastefully between the leaves, making the plants look like they were the source of light. Minhyuk almost keeps walking when he gets there, because there's just no way that _this_ , this is the place.

Thankfully, just as he pauses in front of the door, unsure of what to do, he notices Hyunwoo standing inside. He looks… _great_. A dark suit that clearly didn't come off a discount rack (and Minhyuk is pretty sure he’s starting to develop a suit kink at this point), leather shoes, slicked back hair. _Fuck_.

Minhyuk runs his fingers through his hair in one last attempt to make himself more presentable, takes a deep breath, and walks into the restaurant. He pats Hyunwoo’s shoulder to get his attention and straightens up, hoping that he doesn’t look half as nervous as he feels right now.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Hyunwoo echoes with a soft smile. He looks shy, almost bashful, and it makes Minhyuk want to coo at him. “You look amazing.”

Minhyuk looks down at the suit Hyungwon had lent him. It's a little too big for him; the sleeves are too long and the material of the slacks bunches up above his shoes.

“Ah, those are actually my friend’s clothes,” his mouth decides to say. “Most of the things I own are stained with paint.”

“Well, we'll just have to get you your own clothes then, right?” Hyunwoo grins at him and adds quietly: “Even though I'm sure you look just as great wearing whatever.”

Minhyuk can feel his cheeks heat up. God, he feels more like a blushing virgin than someone who is supposed to be seductive and sexy. He clears his throat, allowing Hyunwoo and their waiter to lead him to the table.

It's located in the back of the restaurant, tucked into a quiet corner, slightly away way from the other customers. The waiter leaves them with menus and after Minhyuk stops gaping at the golden cutlery, he looks up to see Hyunwoo watching him.

“So you're a painter?” he asks. It takes Minhyuk a few seconds to process the question, because Hyunwoo plus candlelight equals his brain short circuiting.

“An art student, yeah.”

“Oh, that's amazing!” Hyunwoo says, handing him one of the menus. “I don't know much about art, to be honest, but I'd love to see your paintings one day.”

“Well, that definitely could be arranged. We have this big exhibition at the end of the semester and we can bring guests, so, you know, you're invited,” Minhyuk says and Hyunwoo beams at him in a way that makes his heart skip a beat.

Minhyuk opens the menu and almost chokes on air when he sees the prices. _Jesus Christ_ , he's not entirely sure that the money in his bank account would be enough to pay for an entire meal here. He glances at Hyunwoo over the pages, but Hyunwoo doesn't look fazed at all. Minhyuk can't help but wonder what it's like, to be used to dining in places like this.

After he gets over his initial shock over the prices, another problem appears in his head. What the hell is he supposed to order? It seems like a trivial thing, but Minhyuk isn't sure of the savior vivre here. Does he go for the cheapest item on the menu or does he order something more expensive? After all, it's about him getting paid for his time, so maybe he should show that he's not afraid to go for what he wants, but that's where yet another problem comes up. What _does_ he want? And this time it's not a spiraling-into-an-existential-crisis type of thing, this time it's about the menu being so fancy and complicated that it could just as well be written in French. Which it actually might be. Shit, shit, shit.

He bites down on his lip, frantically scanning the pages to try to find something that looks at least slightly familiar.

He hears Hyunwoo clear his throat and when he looks up at him their eyes meet over the menus.

“Hey, are you okay with me ordering for both of us?” Hyunwoo asks quietly, leaning forward. “I know it's not very polite, but there's this dish you really have to try, it's mind blowing.”

“Yeah, sure, go for it,” Minhyuk says, breathing a sigh of relief. He doesn't know if Hyunwoo noticed his internal struggle, but he's really grateful that at least this problem is taken care of.

His enthusiasm lessens a little when the waiter comes back and places the plate in front of him. The dish looks beautiful, tastefully decorated like something straight out of a cooking show, but there's one thing about it that really catches Minhyuk’s attention.

“God, it's really tiny, isn't it?” he asks when the waiter walks back into the kitchen. It takes him a few seconds to realize what he's said and he quickly adds: “I mean, not that I'm complaining, I'm sure it's delicious--”

“Don't worry about it,” Hyunwoo says. There's a happy, slightly mischievous twinkle in his eyes that makes him look younger, carefree even. “I usually go for bigger portions myself, but I didn't think you'd enjoy seeing me inhale five burgers in one sitting.”

“Actually, I think I'd be pretty impressed.” Minhyuk grins at him. “We should try that one day, just find some eating contest and sign you up.”

“Deal, unless it's something with white bread, I can't stand it.”

“What?” Minhyuk gasps, placing his hand over his chest. “That's a blasphemy, white bread is the greatest gift humanity ever came up with.”

Hyunwoo starts protesting and Minhyuk allows himself to get pulled into this good natured bickering, because it's easy, because it makes him forget that this is a date. It makes both of them relax around each other and Minhyuk finally starts feeling completely comfortable to the point where when he notices Hyunwoo sneaking glances at his plate, he asks:

“Do you want to try it?”

Without thinking, he holds out his fork towards Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo leans closer, opening his mouth to let Minhyuk feed him. He keeps looking straight into his eyes and for some reason it feels so intimate that Minhyuk has to fight a shiver that's threatening to run down his spine. He watches as Hyunwoo’s mouth closes around the fork and then Hyunwoo pulls back, licking his lips.

“Wow,” he says. “It's really good.”

Minhyuk nods absentmindedly, his eyes still fixed on Hyunwoo’s lips. They look soft and plush, and he really wants to reach out and run his fingers over them, see if he's right. Hyunwoo exhales softly. His lips part and Minhyuk glances up, into his eyes. They're dark, shiny. Pretty. There's something in them, something that makes Minhyuk’s stomach twist into a knot, something that looks like _desire_.

“Hyunwoo?”

Hyunwoo flinches, straightening up as if Minhyuk's fork suddenly burned him. A tall guy dressed in a suit stopped next to their table and is now looking between Hyunwoo and Minhyuk.

“Oh, Sidae! What are you doing here?”

“I just got back from a meeting with your father and decided to get some dinner. You know how your father gets, he forgets about eating when there's something else on his mind.”

Hyunwoo laughs, but to Minhyuk his laughter sounds a little forced, a little fake.

“That definitely sounds like him. Well, don't let me keep you, you must be hungry--”

“Oh, right, how awfully rude of me to interrupt you and your, ah…” the man trails off, glancing at Minhyuk.

“Oh, this is Minhyuk.” Minhyuk bows his head, ready to introduce himself, but the next words out of Hyunwoo's mouth make him freeze up. “He's an old childhood friend, we just ran into each other and decided to catch up over some food,” Hyunwoo says quickly. “He's getting married soon, isn't it exciting? Unbelievable how time flies.”

“Congratulations!” Sidae exclaims and Minhyuk mumbles his thanks, slightly dizzy from the twists of the conversation. “Well, you two have a great evening. I hope to see you soon, Hyunwoo, and Minhyuk, it was nice meeting you.”

He walks away, nodding at both of them, and silence falls over the table. Minhyuk watches Hyunwoo carefully. He's still staring after Sidae, his face pale, his fingers playing with his knife and fork. After a while he snaps out of whatever trance he was in, and blinks, his gaze sliding back to Minhyuk.

“God, I'm sorry, I spaced out. I owe you an explanation--”

“It's fine,” Minhyuk says quickly. It's crystal clear that the sudden run in with that guy shook Hyunwoo up and sure, Minhyuk is curious why, but he's not going to ask, that would probably be against sugar baby rules or something like that. “Don't worry, I can be an engaged childhood friend if you want me to. It's all good.”

“It's a long story,” Hyunwoo says apologetically.

The rest of the dinner goes well enough, but the change in the atmosphere is undeniable.

Hyunwoo keeps laughing at Minhyuk silly jokes, he holds up his end of the conversation, but he seems slightly out of it. The tension is visible in his posture, in the stiffness of his gestures, in the way he keeps trailing off and looking around, scanning the faces of the people around them. Minhyuk tries to get a feeling of the situation and he offers to share some of his dessert with Hyunwoo, but this time Hyunwoo reaches for his fork, and that's all that Minhyuk needs to confirm his suspicion that something is off.

He doesn't bring it up, even though Hyunwoo's behavior is making him nervous too. He tries to dismantle the awkwardness by making even more jokes, and he has to admit that Hyunwoo takes it very gracefully. It's obvious that his head is somewhere else, but he doesn’t rush the meeting, doesn’t glance at his watch. He’s just a little less _here_ then he was when Minhyuk walked up to him and by the time he pays the bill and the both of them get into a taxi, Minhyuk kind of gets used to it. He’s more concerned with what Hyunwoo driving home with him might mean right now. Is Minhyuk supposed to ask him to come inside for _a cup of coffee_? Is Hyunwoo counting on that happening? Or would he be turned off by such fake subtlety? And what’s even more important, did Minhyuk clean up that pile of socks under his couch that he was meaning to wash for a week now?  

Before he has a chance to figure that out, the driver parks in front of Minhyuk’s apartment complex and he and Hyunwoo climb out of the car, walking up to the door.

“Thank you, I had a great evening,” Hyunwoo says, shuffling his feet.

“Yeah, me too,” Minhyuk squeaks out. He's trying not to panic, but he knows that they're going to part soon, that his time to make a move is running out. He's still too afraid to say the wrong thing, so he tries to let his body do the talking, turning around and leaning into Hyunwoo's space.

“Do you want to--” he starts, but Hyunwoo begins talking at the same time:

“Well, goodnight then.”

“Oh.” Minhyuk blinks a few times. So that's it? Not even a goodbye kiss? “Goodnight, yeah, sleep well.”

Hyunwoo smiles at him, taking a step back towards the taxi. Minhyuk stares after him for a while and then he spins around, opening the door to his building and sprinting up the stairs.

He gets into his apartment, kicks off his shoes and walks into his bedroom, staring blankly at his bed.

What the hell. Did he do something wrong? Did he manage to fuck up his chances with Hyunwoo after spending a few hours with him? That must be some sort of a record, Minhyuk should definitely get a congratulatory card for officially being the worst sugar baby on the entire planet. _Hi, my name is Minhyuk and I made a guy hate me after meeting with me twice_.

Minhyuk groans, throwing himself across the bed despite being practically able to hear Hyungwon bitch about the wrinkles on his suit. He feels embarrassed, just imagining what Hyunwoo must be thinking about him makes him want to curl up and whine with shame.

Thankfully, Minhyuk is an optimist by nature, so it takes him a few moments to calm down and consider the bright side of this. He’s only in this arrangement for money so why should he even care if Hyunwoo likes him? If he doesn't, that's fine, Minhyuk can simply find someone else or he can take it as a sign and back out. After all, he might start selling his art one day and maybe, just maybe, he won’t have to live in a cardboard box under some bridge. That’s a thought he should put up over his bed as his own personal motivational poster.

It isn't until the next morning, when he opens the door and he’s greeted by a courier carrying a bouquet of roses (with a note reading _I hope you can forgive me for acting so weird last night. Hope to see you soon. H._ attached to it) so big it barely fits through the door that he realizes the end of his sugar baby career might just have to wait a little longer.


End file.
